Dental Trauma Emergency Management
Following a previous case study done by Dr. Gwen, we think it is time for us to share some information about traumatic dental injuries. This will definitely come in handy when accidents happen.
According to the International Association of Dental Traumatology, 25% of school children experienced dental trauma and 33% of adults have experienced trauma to permanent dentition, with the majority of the injuries occurring before age 19.
So, this post would like to provide some basic knowledge and tips for the public or parents in providing immediate and urgent care on-site. Proper management will definitely improve the prognosis of subsequent treatment.
Normally, dental trauma occurs when there is an accident, fall, or fight. No matter which type of situation it is, both soft tissues like our gum or lips and hard tissues like our teeth and bones could be injured. But for today’s topic, we will only focus on the trauma towards the teeth. Let’s talk about fractures and avulsion.
Emergency Management for Fractured Tooth
Fractures of the tooth mean there is breakage/loss of tooth structure.
When an accident happens, please look for the broken part, clean and keep it properly.
Not only it helps the dentist to evaluate if any broken pieces are embedded into the soft tissue injured site, also we may be able to reattach the fragment to the tooth. So it is always useful to keep the fragment. The type of treatment will be determined by the extent of the fractures, a normal restoration may be sufficient or root canal treatment may be necessary if nerve tissue is badly injured.
Emergency Management for Avulsed Tooth
Avulsion means the tooth is knocked out from the socket.
This is one of the most serious dental injuries, and the prognosis is very much dependent on the action taken at the place of the accident and promptly following the avulsion. Replantation is, in most situations, the treatment of choice but there are many factors to be considered.
* There is an individual situation where replantation is not indicated, eg, severe caries/gum disease, an uncooperative patient, an immunocompromised patient, a severe cardiac condition, etc.
Conclusion:
In most situations, the dentist will attempt to replant the tooth but it is important to realize that some of the replanted teeth have a low probability of long-term survival and may be lost or condemned to extraction at a later stage. However, not replanting the tooth is an irreversible decision therefore saving it should be attempted. After replanting the avulsed tooth, splinting of a minimum of 2 weeks duration and subsequent root canal treatment will be needed. Patients or caretakers must understand the importance of follow-up visits after the accidents.
We hope accidents will never occur to any of us, but it is best to always be prepared. We hope this post is informative to you. Have a nice day.
Should you have any inquiries, feel free to contact us at 016-2484808. Thank you.
